Structural heart disease may be missed using clinical examination alone and limited echocardiograms or ‘quick-scans’ may be a way to improve rates of detection. To evaluate the finding of clinically unexpected abnormalities using ‘quick-scans’, scans were performed in a general practice by a level 7 sonographer using a GE V scan system. Indications were: murmur; potentially cardiac symptom (e.g. chest pain or breathlessness); cardiac history in the GP notes (e.g. myocardial infarction); atrial fibrillation; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with disproportionate dyspnoea; age ≥75 years. Standard transthoracic echocardiograms were performed if clinically indicated or if the ‘quick-scan’ detected a significant abnormality.
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February 2016 Leave a commentClick any image to enlarge
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